TRURO, N.S.
Truro Police say they have identified a suspect in an attempted bank robbery Wednesday morning at the CIBC.
And that identification is thanks to social media.
“We got a call, a tip from Facebook,” said Deputy Chief Jim Flemming, regarding information provided by a woman who called in to say she had recognized a man in a security video photo released by the Truro Police Service.
The man walked into the downtown bank and passed a note to the clerk demanding money, the police said in an initial news release on Wednesday. The man allegedly told the teller he had a gun, although no gun was seen. Neither did he receive any money.
A woman who was waiting in line at the bank, but who did not want to be identified, said she had noticed a man appearing to become increasingly agitated while waiting for the teller to deal with another, time-consuming transaction in front of him.
“I don’t know what she said to him,” the woman said, of the man’s exchange with the teller, when it came time for him to be served.
Whatever conversation did take place, the woman said it was short and he immediately turned around and hurried out of the bank empty handed.
The man was not wearing a disguise, other than a pair of sunglasses.
Flemming said the suspect is believed to have family in St. Catharines, Ont., and is thought to be heading for the Niagara region.
“He’s on the move,” Flemming said.
And he said, the man, who was recently released from a halfway house in Halifax, has served time in Ontario for robbery and is also believed to be a suspect in a bank robbery that occurred in New Brunswick.
Police are not releasing the man’s identity until he has been taken into custody and charges have been laid.
